[Tokyo University IPC] Regarding the establishment of a limited liability partnership for university startup promotion fund investment business
*View in browser* *Tokyo University IPC*
Press release: April 25, 2024
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Regarding the establishment of a limited liability partnership for university startup promotion fund investment business
*~Aiming to become a creation base for new deep tech startups that collaborate domestically and internationally~*
The University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director and President Kosuke Ueda, hereinafter referred to as “The University of Tokyo”)
“IPC”) has newly established “Academic Startup Promotion Fund Investment Limited Partnership (Academic Startup, etc.)
Acceleration (hereinafter referred to as “ASA Fund”)” was established. Now that we have reached the first close with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyu Land Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Hiroaki Hoshino) as LP investors, we have begun making investments under this fund. We will continue to expand the scale of this fund. This fund is scheduled to receive LP investment from the University of Tokyo, a national university corporation, as a certified fund for specific research results utilization support projects.
By newly managing this fund, the University of Tokyo IPC will work to resolve issues in Japan’s university-based startup ecosystem, and will further strengthen collaboration with industry, academia, and government as well as overseas. We will work to contribute to strengthening Japan’s industrial competitiveness in the world by raising our business to the top level overseas and nurturing world-class unicorn startups.
Aiming to expand the successful model of ecosystem development around the University of Tokyo to the whole of Japan and become a base for the creation of university-based startups.
The University of Tokyo IPC was established in 2016 as a wholly-owned investment subsidiary of the University of Tokyo in order to further develop the venture ecosystem that has been cultivated around the University of Tokyo. Under the Public-Private Innovation Program, which is an investment project for national universities, two funds (*1) will invest in and support more than 70 domestic and
international university-related startups at various stages (pre-seed to late). We have implemented a wide range of methods including VC collaborative investment, corporate collaboration investment, and carve-out investment.
In parallel with investing in startups, we have also developed two support programs: entrepreneurship support and human resources support. 1stRound, Japan’s largest entrepreneurial support program co-sponsored by 14 universities including the University of Tokyo, collaborates with 24 partner companies that are leading companies in various domestic industries, and has selected and supported 85 companies over the past eight years. I’ve been doing it. In our human resources support efforts to accelerate the influx of talented human resources to startups, we are using our unique human resources matching platform, “DeepTech,” as part of our human resources support efforts for investment companies and “1stRound” companies to recruit and form teams.
We operate “Dive”.
We believe that these activities have greatly accelerated and developed due to the enrichment of the startup ecosystem that has been cultivated around the University of Tokyo.We believe that expanding this model throughout Japan and building a system for co-nurturing it will help Japan’s startup ecosystem. We believe that this is essential for the development of the system. Utilizing the experience and know-how of startup development, support, and investment that the University of Tokyo IPC has cultivated, we aim to discover investment targets from a wide range of regions and strengthen the ecosystem of Japan as a whole.
Along with the University of Tokyo’s goal of becoming more open, creating a global startup ecosystem
The University of Tokyo took the opportunity of becoming a national university corporation in 2004 to provide support for entrepreneurship and commercialization throughout the university, and multi-layered efforts are being made for various human resources and seeds related to the University, and the University of Tokyo is expanding its global business. We are currently continuing to develop with the aim of forming a startup ecosystem. As interest in diversity and inclusion increases, the message of “universities open to everyone” and “universities that everyone in the world wants to come to” has spread to initiatives related to entrepreneurship, and Two types of openness are being promoted: “expansion of people” and “expansion of actors.” This new fund is in line with the University of Tokyo’s policy, and aims to work together to build a world-class global startup ecosystem.
Collaboration with a variety of support entities, including the Tokyo metropolitan area and overseas startup ecosystems
In November 2020, Tokyo announced the start-up strategy “Global Innovation with STARTUPS,” we have established a “10x10x10 innovation vision to open up the future,” and aim to create globally active startups, expand the base of startups, and expand public-private collaboration in which the government supports innovation. In addition, by taking advantage of the concentration of universities and research institutes that are hubs of knowledge, we will publicly recruit fund operators to steadily implement the excellent research of universities and the technology of R&D-oriented deep tech companies into society. In April, the University of Tokyo IPC was selected as its operator.
In addition to these collaborations with local governments, the University of Tokyo IPC is also building collaborative relationships with overseas ecosystems that produce many unicorn startups. We aim to create world-class global startups and form an ecosystem by making full use of the support system that strongly fosters startups that can grow globally.
The concept of ASA Fund is as follows.
* Invested in a university VC fund that invests in university-based startups *
In order to discover technology seeds that exist in abundance mainly in universities, support their commercialization, and foster and support startups that can expand globally, we will invest in university VC funds that primarily invest in and support startups originating from universities.・Of funds).
Domestic ecosystem construction and globalization
Through the FOF (Fund of Funds) in the Collaborative Creation Fund No. 1, we will discover and utilize investment targets from a wide range of regions while sharing and utilizing the know-how in nurturing, supporting and investing in deep tech startups that the University of Tokyo IPC has cultivated. We will support your development.
Furthermore, we will work to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Japan as a whole by supporting the formation of emerging VCs that support deep tech startups. We also aim to deepen collaboration with overseas universities and surrounding VCs and accelerators, and become a base for creating global deep tech startups.
*1 Collaborative Creation Platform Development No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership (Collaborative Creation No. 1 Fund), Open Innovation Promotion No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership (AOI No. 1 Fund)
*Overview of University Startup Promotion Fund Investment Limited Partnership (ASA Fund)*
Unlimited Liability Partner: University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd.
Limited partnership member: Tokyo, Tokyu Land Corporation
*As of first close
Duration: 15 years from 2024
* About the University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd. (Todai IPC) *
The University of Tokyo IPC was established in 2016 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Tokyo in order to further develop the venture ecosystem that has been cultivated around the University of Tokyo. So far, we have invested in more than 60 university-related startups in Japan and overseas through two public-private funds, and we have also provided hands-on support, including human resources support, as well as 1stRound, Japan’s largest university-co-sponsored entrepreneurial support program. I am also in charge of management. By collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders such as universities, companies, venture capital, and the government, we are developing activities to help strengthen Japan’s industrial competitiveness in the world by creating startups and building ecosystems that are on par with the world.
Overview: An investment company aiming to develop an academia-related startup ecosystem.
Established January 2016
Shareholder: National University Corporation The University of Tokyo (100%) Address Entrepreneur Lab 261, South Research Building, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Kosuke Ueda, President and Representative Director URL https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/
【inquiry】
University of Tokyo Collaborative Creation Platform Development Co., Ltd. Entrepreneur Lab 261, South Research Building, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
TEL: 03-3830-0200 / FAX: 03-3830-0183
Email: info2@utokyo-ipc.co.jp
Person in charge: Mikiro Kawahara
Please note that this press release is solely for the purpose of publicly announcing the first close of the ASA Fund, and is not intended in any way to provide investment management services or solicit any specific financial products. . Additionally, the University of Tokyo IPC is not soliciting any interest in the ASA Fund, etc. through this press release.
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